Wren Library

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Library in Trinity College, Cambridge, England

title: "Wren Library" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["trinity-college,-cambridge", "1695-establishments-in-england", "christopher-wren-buildings", "buildings-and-structures-completed-in-1695", "grade-i-listed-buildings-in-cambridgeshire", "grade-i-listed-library-buildings", "college-libraries-of-the-university-of-cambridge", "library-buildings-completed-in-the-17th-century", "research-libraries-in-the-united-kingdom"] description: "Library in Trinity College, Cambridge, England" topic_path: "society/education" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wren_Library" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Library in Trinity College, Cambridge, England ::

::callout[type=note] the Wren Library in Cambridge ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/cmglee_Cambridge_Trinity_College_Neviles_Court.jpg" caption="Nevile's Court"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/WrenLibraryCambridge.jpg" caption="The library's rear façade as seen from the [[River Cam"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/WrenLibraryInterior.jpg" caption="The interior of the library, showing the limewood carvings by [[Grinling Gibbons"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/cmglee_Cambridge_Trinity_College_Wren_Library_south_end.jpg" caption="Stained glass window and Lord Byron statue at Wren Library's south end"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Wren_Library,Cambridge-_Cloisters_beneath_main_library_room.jpg" caption="Cloisters beneath Wren Library's main room"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/cmglee_Cambridge_Wren_Library_University_Library.jpg" caption="St John's College"] ::

The Wren Library is the library of Trinity College in Cambridge. It was designed by Christopher Wren in 1676 and completed in 1695.

Description

The library is a single large room built over an open colonnade on the ground floor of Nevile's Court. The floor of the library proper within the upper storey lies several feet below the external division between the two storeys, reconciling the demands of use with the harmony of architectural proportion. It is credited as being one of the first libraries to be built with large windows to give comfortable light levels to aid readers.

The book stacks are arranged in rows perpendicular to the walls under the intervals between the windows. At the end of each stack is a fine limewood carving by Grinling Gibbons, and above these are plaster cast busts of notable writers through the ages. Other marble busts standing on plinths depict notable members of the college and are mostly carved by Louis-François Roubiliac. A later addition is a full size statue of Lord Byron carved by Bertel Thorvaldsen, originally offered to Westminster Abbey for inclusion in Poets' Corner, but refused due to the poet's reputation for immorality.

Giovanni Battista Cipriani was commissioned to design the stained-glass window at the south end, and William Peckitt completed it in 1775. The 5.03 m × 2.44 m window shows Fame or the muse of the college in yellow robes presenting Isaac Newton to King George III, seated by an allegory of Britannia, while Francis Bacon records the proceedings, and two cherubim and a bare-breasted woman with a trumpet herald the occasion. Considered a distraction to the scholars, thick curtains covered the window in the 19th century.

On the east balustrade of the library's roof are four statues by Gabriel Cibber representing Divinity, Law, Physic (medicine), and Mathematics.

As part of the complex of buildings surrounding Nevile's Court, Great Court and New Court, the library is a Grade I listed building.

The other library designed by Wren is Lincoln Cathedral Library.

Notable books

The library contains many notable rare books and manuscripts, many bequeathed by past members of the college.

Included in the collection are

Digitisation programme

In early 2014 the library began a major programme of digitisation. To date, over 1100 of the 1250 medieval manuscripts owned by the college have been digitised and are freely available to read online. A link to the list of digitised manuscripts can be found in the external links below.

Visiting

The library is open to the public, but opening times are limited. There is no admission charge for the Wren Library.

Cambridge University, Wren Library, Trinity College.jpg|Historical photograph of the exterior, circa 1870 Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge University.jpg|Historical photograph of the interior, circa 1870

References

References

  1. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PNTgAAAAMAAJ The Making of the Wren Library: Trinity College, Cambridge]''
  2. McKitterick, D (ed.), ''The Making of the Wren Library'' (Cambridge, 1995), chapter 3.
  3. Fürst, V., 1956, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=VUpQAAAAMAAJ&q=cibber The architecture of Sir Christopher Wren]''
  4. {{NHLE
  5. Newton, Isaac. "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Newton's personally annotated 1st edition)".
  6. [http://sites.trin.cam.ac.uk/james/viewpage.php?index=1476 Isaac Newton's Notebook]
  7. [http://sites.trin.cam.ac.uk/james/viewpage.php?index=70 Pauline epistles Epistles of St Paul]
  8. [http://sites.trin.cam.ac.uk/james/viewpage.php?index=58 13th-century Anglo-Norman Trinity Apocalypse]
  9. ''The Western manuscripts in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge'' by M.R. James, Cambridge University Press, 1900, 3 vols.
  10. [https://books.google.com/books?id=h21CPLHkwu0C&pg=PT690 Frommer's London 2013] By Donald Strachan
  11. [http://sites.trin.cam.ac.uk/james/viewpage.php?index=1394 Autograph of Milton]
  12. [http://sites.trin.cam.ac.uk/james/viewpage.php?index=216 The Vision of Piers Plowman Online Manuscript]
  13. [https://mss-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk/Search The James Catalogue of Western Manuscripts]
  14. [http://archivesmadeeasy.pbworks.com/w/page/24292403/Archive%20of%20the%20Wren%20Library Archives made easy Information]
  15. [http://www.visitcambridge.org/things-to-do/wren-library-p528501 Visit Cambridge Information]
  16. [https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/library/visitors/ Wren Library Opening Times]

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

trinity-college,-cambridge1695-establishments-in-englandchristopher-wren-buildingsbuildings-and-structures-completed-in-1695grade-i-listed-buildings-in-cambridgeshiregrade-i-listed-library-buildingscollege-libraries-of-the-university-of-cambridgelibrary-buildings-completed-in-the-17th-centuryresearch-libraries-in-the-united-kingdom